Following lock-down, Norfolk man arrested for carrying BB pistol at Norwood-Norfolk; bail set at $50,000

Friday, January 25, 2013 - 5:33 pm

NORWOOD – Just six weeks after 20 elementary school students were shot to death at their school in Connecticut, a 60-year-old Norfolk man accused of stalking a school staff member has been arrested for carrying a BB pistol at Norwood-Norfolk Central Middle School.

Norwood-Norfolk Central School was locked down for a time early in the school day Friday when the man, reportedly acting suspiciously, tried to drop off a package for a teacher, according to state police.

Troopers said the man was wearing a handgun shoulder holster containing what state police are calling an “imitation pistol.”

Police arrived and arrested Steven R. Wells at the middle school office and took him into custody without incident.

He was arraigned in Town of Norfolk Court before Town Justice Donald Lustyik and sent to the St. Lawrence County jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bail bond.

“Wells was found to be wearing a shoulder handgun holster with a black Desert Eagle BB pistol, which is considered an imitation pistol, beneath his jacket,” a statement from State Police Troop B said.

Wells arrived at the school before 8 a.m., just as students were arriving for the day, asking to see a staff member so he could give her a package, according to police.

Troopers said school staff denied Wells’s request and notified law enforcement.

The school’s lockdown procedures were initiated and Wells “was not able to gain access the interior of the school and no students were placed in any type of danger as a result of the incident,” troopers said.

Elementary school students arriving by bus at about 8:30 were kept on their buses for an additional 15 minutes to half an hour while officials determined the situation had been resolved.

Police rushed through the school buildings looking for any potential accomplices, a witness said. No such suspects were reported to have been found.

The staff member Wells had been trying to see told them that Wells “had been engaging in stalking and harassment type behavior against her for the past several days,” police said.